23/08/2025
Klaus Schwab, the man who turned the World Economic Forum into his personal empire, has finally stepped aside. But rather than leaving under a cloud of scandal, he has walked away polished and celebrated.
An internal investigation cleared him of every major accusation – misusing funds, meddling with governments, and running a toxic workplace – all reduced to nothing more than “minor irregularities.”
At the age of eighty-seven, Schwab departs not disgraced, but hailed, with lawsuits disappearing and his legacy carefully protected.
Taking his place are two figures who speak volumes about where Davos is heading. Larry Fink of BlackRock, who controls ten trillion dollars and has openly spoken of “forcing behaviours” on corporations, now carries even greater influence.
Alongside him is André Hoffmann, heir to Roche and its Big Pharma fortune, built through years of controversy over pricing and practices. Together, finance and pharmaceuticals now sit firmly at the head of the table.
It is worth remembering Schwab’s own words about his Young Global Leaders having “penetrated the cabinets” of governments.
The program has produced names such as Trudeau, Macron, Ardern, Buttigieg, and Baerbock, leaders who embody the very reach Schwab bragged about.
It is also worth recalling the slogans Davos has become known for – “you will own nothing and be happy” – and the hypocrisy of its gatherings, where elites arrive in a thousand private jets to dine on steak and champagne while urging the minions to use less power.
This is not the fresh start it is being sold as. It is consolidation. An organisation that investigated itself, absolved itself, and then handed the keys to global finance and global pharmaceuticals is not reforming, it is entrenching.
Schwab’s departure is not an ending but a transition, and the system he built is only becoming stronger under new hands.
The question is not whether Davos has changed, but whether we can trust those who now hold the reins of influence to act in anyone’s interest but their own.
